Maybe it'd be inappropriate to label it as the seal since Amir mentioned he did try to adjust the fit around the measurement rig but to no avail. The imbalance of such a magnitude would undeniably have severe implications though
I would say seal yes, but not the seal from the pad too the head but from poor construction. the driver themselves have to have better consistency than that. To the point that I’d personally return these. it looks like a factory defect, 4 dBs difference in the subs. But it’s a scary defect because one would not necessarily notice it without measurments. Maybe Focals are getting too big for their own good, at close to a grand this should not pass quality control. At the very least it deserves explanation, it doesn’t look normal to me.
As I explained, I don't think this is the cause. Usually when it is a seal issue in one channel, the slope is the same but then it droops sooner. Here it has a kink and then flattens at a lower level.
but it says Focal elegia with celestee pad.As I explained, I don't think this is the cause. Usually when it is a seal issue in one channel, the slope is the same but then it droops sooner. Here it has a kink and then flattens at a lower level.
Look at this one measurement:
It looks like my "bad" channel.
Come to think of it, maybe the bad channel is the way it is supposed to be and my good channel is the bad channel!
What about this imbalance? (with much more audible and critical frequencies):
High-frequency measurements tend to be quite variable especially with headphones like K371 with smaller pads.
Maybe they put one of the Eligia drivers in the Celestee by accident.
That's the Elegia though, with the Celestee pads.As I explained, I don't think this is the cause. Usually when it is a seal issue in one channel, the slope is the same but then it droops sooner. Here it has a kink and then flattens at a lower level.
Look at this one measurement:
It looks like my "bad" channel.
Come to think of it, maybe the bad channel is the way it is supposed to be and my good channel is the bad channel!
that says, in the bass region, we also have a small difference but this one is more typical of seal difference, but we see on the 371, the first dip, is translated from about 10 hz. It’s not fundamentally different than what we see here, but the difference is much bigger. The “kink” is there on both channels, but it appears 15 Hz later on the right, but the general shape remains,
That will have adverse effects too, but to have an entire chunk of the sub bass lacking on one side can really mess up the perception of soundstage and music enjoyment. You can actually try this yourself- listen to a familiar track with a closed-back headphone you like before deliberately creating a bad seal on one side of it to hear the difference. I could no longer enjoy mine this way
